Articles

Breaking Soul-Ties

01
Oct

I recently received a report revealing that my #1 viewed podcast series is “Breaking Soul Ties”. Based on the emails I receive and letters I read, many people are locked in relationships that they know they shouldn’t be in . . . but don’t know how to get out. I dedicated an entire chapter on this subject in my new book, Make Your Dreams Bigger than Your Memories, because it is a big reason why many people are not letting go of their past. Some people can never fully move on or may find themselves “stuck” because they have not severed relationships with particular people that God wants them to sever.
Perhaps you still dream about or long for someone that you were never able to release from your spirit, even though it’s been years. Perhaps you are currently in an unhealthy relationship you know you should get out of. Or you try to leave the situation but always end up returning to it. Maybe you have been in an intimate relationship with someone and although you know it’s wrong and you want to please God, you simply cannot resist the desire to stay involved with them. Perhaps you are tormented with thoughts about someone in your mind. You have soul ties.
Your soul is made up of your mind, your will and your emotions; it is your inner life. A soul tie is an emotional connection or a bond with another that unites you. Soul ties are not necessarily bad. After all, God created them. They can be good if it’s something that God wants for your life. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 18:19, Jesus says, “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them”. When two people come together in a good soul tie, the power of God intensifies.
In 1 Samuel 18:1, we read that “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David” (NKJV). Jonathan’s and David’s souls were tied together in a way that God blessed. Likewise, marriage represents a good soul tie between a husband and wife, because their souls are joined together as one flesh (see Mark 10:8).
As I headed out for my morning walk today, I saw my big dog, Chester Savoy Foy, tied to the gate. We are having some work done in our backyard and we didn’t want Chester to get loose, so we had to tie him up. I visually saw him tied to the gate. He wasn’t going anywhere. I was sure he wanted to. He desired to. He wished he could. But the fact is, that chain is pretty secure and it kept him bound.
Think about your own life. What’s keeping you bound? What are you tied to in your soul that you can’t get free from? Who are you still emotionally connected to because of wrong soul ties? You want to break free. You desire to. You wish you could, but you feel chained. These chains must be broken.

How are soul ties formed?

1. Close relationships.
When you spend a lot of time with someone, you are forming a bond. Through whatever you do together – eating, traveling, working, talking – the connection strengthens. You have soul ties with your coworkers, your family members, your children, your classmates. Jonathan and David are a perfect example of a God-designed soul tie. In this type of kinship, God’s power increases. The same is true for a wrong soul tie. In that instance, it opens an opportunity for Satan to work on your behalf, and his evil power is intensified.

2. Vows, commitments, promises.
Soul ties can be formed by the words of your mouth. Words have such power over your life! Think of what it really means when you say statements such as: “I will never stop loving you.” “You will always be the only one I love.” “I will never get you out of my heart.” “You’re the only one I will ever give my love to.” “Nobody will ever take your place in my life.” Can you just imagine how much power these words yield?
The Bible says that we can be “snared” by the words of our mouth: “You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth” (Proverbs 6:2 NKJV). A snare means a trap, a hook or a plan. Your very own words could be keeping you trapped to a bad soul tie, which explains why you feel like something is pulling on you, preventing you from fully going forward.

3. Sexual relationships.
Soul ties are formed any time and every time there is intimacy in a relationship. You may have ended a physically intimate relationship months ago, but you still feel a pull toward that person. Why? Because of soul ties.
Soul ties prevent us from moving on to new relationships, even the ones God may be leading us into. This can even happen in situations of divorce. The divorce is over, a new marriage is pursued, but one spouse keeps being drawn back to his or her ex-husband or ex-wife. Their soul is still tied to the former spouse.
James 1:8 says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A double-minded person is one with a divided soul. Do you feel unstable at times? Do you want to move on with your life but are struck in random moments of missing your ex-boyfriend? This is being double -minded and not something God wants you to experience. He wants you free from every sin of your past – even the ones you willfully gave into over and over but still think about.
There are certain things you can do to help you through this trying and uncomfortable process of breaking free from a relationship you feel God wants you to get free of:
A. Decide to please God more than anyone.
You have one life to live., and it matters to God. One day, you will stand before God and give an account of your life and what you were called to do during your time here on earth. You cannot live your life displeasing God in order to please someone else. All that will do is eventually bring you a life of deep regret.
You have to come to the place in your life where pleasing God is the most important thing to you. If He is prompting you to end a relationship that you’re tied to, then you need to end it. Allowing someone to have as much influence as God should have in your life opens the door for Satan to come into your life. He will make it so much harder for you to give up this soul tie. The right time to cut the strings is now. Today. Even this very minute.
B. Build yourself up in the Word.
You must have daily doses of God’s Word in order to develop the strength to sever an ungodly soul tie. You cannot do this on your own. Filling yourself with God’s Word can help you make the right decisions. It must be a part of your strategic plan to be free of your past.
The Bible is your greatest weapon against Satan. He does not want you to break your soul ties. He is desperately working to keep you locked into this situation. The devil will lie to you and convince you that you cannot live without him/her. He will remind you day and night of all the good times, the fun times, the laughter, and torment you into thinking you cannot live without this person. He is a liar.
God’s Word, the Truth, will override Satan’s lies. Just like anything else, you won’t see results overnight. You have to make studying the Word a habit. In my new book, I share simple steps to developing habits of spending time in the Word. You decide your habits, your habits will decide your future.
C. Wean Yourself from that person.
You literally have to wean yourself from that person to whom you have ungodly soul ties. To wean means to deprive. You have to deprive yourself of this wrong soul tie until you no longer miss him or her. And listen to this: there will come a day when you will no longer miss that person.

Psalm 131:2 says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with his mother. Like a weaned child is my soul within me ceased from fretting.” I remember when I was trying to wean my daughter off of the pacifier. Every night, it had become a part of our nightly routine to give her a pacifier as I laid her in her crib for the night. An hour or two later, I would remove the pacifier, and her little mouth would still be moving as if the pacifier were still there! It was so cute!

However, when it was time to wean her from it, it was torture. It was unbearable for her and she screamed at the top of her lungs for that “thing” she was used to getting. It was unbearable for me as I could not do anything except let her cry. Oh, it broke my heart. I felt like a bad mom! Finally, what felt like an eternity of torturing my baby ended. She cried herself to sleep.
The next night, it didn’t get any easier! It was like starting over again. The same thing happened night after night. One night, however, the crying seemed to fade. It wasn’t as loud or as long as the previous nights. Eventually, of course, the crying completely stopped. The hours of crying turned into nights of silence. My baby, who is now 13, hasn’t missed her pacifier since!

When you first deny yourself of your wrong soul tie, rest assured that your spirit will throw a fit. Your emotions will scream and fight for the right to stay in bondage. But the more you deny yourself the thing that you are screaming for, the less you begin to desire it. Your flesh will eventually stop throwing temper tantrums and will start being subsided by the Spirit of God.

There are many ways to wean yourself off of an ungodly soul tie. The most obvious and important action to take is to cut all communication. Don’t call the person. Don’t answer their phone calls. Don’t hang out in places where you know they’ll be. Don’t be alone with them. Don’t email them. Delete their emails. You may have to take drastic measures to be free, but I promise you, it’s worth it. Doing this is being obedient to God and you will never regret submitting to your Heavenly Father. God always blesses obedience. Remember this: partial obedience is still disobedience. Disobedience opens the door for a curse to come on your life. Fully obey what you know God is telling you to do.

When you compromise, agony and anxiety become your companions. When you obey God, peace and joy become a part of your life. You can never have total peace when you’re in disobedience to God. The only way to obtain peace is to submit to Him and do whatever He wants you to do. Your feelings will lie to you. You have to shut them up and do what you know you’re supposed to do. As I mentioned earlier, I dedicated an entire chapter on this subject which includes more strategic steps to breaking free. In a very practical way, I show you how to remove reminders of your past from your house and how to break the power of those words that have been spoken.

My prayer is that you will do what you know in your heart God is telling you to do. Lean on Him like never before. When the soul ties are painful, rest assured, your pain won’t last forever. Joy comes in the morning. And when something ends, God always has a new beginning.

45 thoughts on “Breaking Soul-Ties”

  1. Cassie says:

    Thank you so much Terri! Your ministry is life-saving. Literally. I was so broken before I read you books and listened to you speak. When my ex boyfriend killed himself, I had nightmares, seeing his face for weeks and trying to save his life in my dreams or seeing him alive. After breaking ties from my past, they were gone, as were the feelings of worthlessness and depression. I received prayer over soul ties not long ago. I feel as if I am lighter, more confident, and.. free. Its a feeling of freedom!

  2. kay says:

    Thank you for such a heartfelt article. I took the time to read this thoroughly. I have been going through a very difficult past relationship with an ex who i became very close to, and we were involved in ways we should not have been, starting at the age of 17, i am now 20. Eventually, i ended up being ripped away from it all by God! He had given me chance after chance, and even upon attempting to leave, he would always make me second guess it. it hurt me terribly to let him go, and it still does but i know that it is what’s right, and i owe ny all to God. There’s so much that i can’t even explain to anyone about that relationship…it took ALOT out of me beyond understanding. All this to say, this is an important thing to understand for the body of Christ. Thanks for posting!

  3. Tania says:

    Thank you so much. A year ago I got divorced after 20 years. I only found out about soul ties yesterday and went up for prayer to have it broken. I am trusting in God to allow me to move forward with my life, to find myself, to like myself, and to find happiness.

  4. Rachel says:

    Thank you for your clear, well thought out way of explaining this issue.
    I have had very unhealthy relationships in the past and one abusive
    marriage which ‘glory be to God’ I am now free from (divorced).
    I haven’t got a problem with the ‘weaning stage’, I’m well beyond this.
    Basically I just want/yearn for God to break every tie from my past in the name of Jesus.
    I pray that his TRUTH will set me free.

  5. Nina says:

    Omg, so warranted and much needed. I Thank God, for you following after your passion to help others; through this means of communication your blog. You are definitely in the right place at the right time for Blessing. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU RICHLY, AND LEAD YOU. I will look for additional excerpts from you and view and support your books.

  6. ton .c. says:

    Thank you so much Terri. I know that God gave you that word of wisdom because I’m going through an ungodly soul tied that I kept going back and have been in this for three years and the Lord is saying to come out.

  7. Chrissy says:

    Thank you Terri for this word. I was involved in an extramarital emotional affair..It has been about 3 months since I had any contact with the man I was talking with.. Since then I have been haunted with memories of our conversations and seeing him in my dreams..I have been trying to move on with my life and rebuild my marriage but I still felt a battle was taking place in my mind..After reading you article I realized I did had a soul tie remaining. I had some knowledge of soul ties but thought it only pertained to sexual contact only. I renounced my soul ties to that person and felt the burden over me immediately lift and the Peace of God surround me.God Bless you

  8. Margaret says:

    After being divorced for many years right before I met my husband, I was involved with someone at work who was married. What seemed a harmless friendship became an emotional entanglement com the enemy to distract the REAL blessing the Lord was bringing into my life. Even after I married the man God brought into my life, I desired to continue the relationship which was wrong….the soul ties were strong and finally after several years, I had to choose to stop all communication. Women want that closeness, words are containers, and although we were never intimate physically, emotionally via emaul, we were. I eventually had to leave my workplace over the situation because I’d the guilt and shame of allowing this person to play with my emotions. God has since solidified my marriage but it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through. Thank though for sharing this important subject. Soul ties must be broken in order to have the best Gid sho desires to give us. If you’re just casually emailing your…”friend”…let it go. It opens the door and allows the enemy to wreak havoc in your life.

  9. oniccah says:

    Thank you very much for your advice, i have been struggling for many years and i thank God that today my freedom has come, in Jesus name

  10. Martha says:

    Praise the Lord! !! Thank you so very much for this article. I used to tell people that my ex and I were like an old oak tree…grown thru the tribulations of life. Last August 2013…He dropped the bomb on my “imaginary oak tree” & left me for another woman. I pray and stand firm on God’s Word that He is mor ed than able to move this mountain and strengthen me as I break free from the soul tie between my ex and I. After 26 years Lord…I desperately need your strength, word and guidance. This tie is truly holding me hostage…but where the Lord is I am free…free indeed

  11. Bethany says:

    Terri , this has been so inspiring to me . You see I have been in a toxic relationship for 2 years. We have been involved sexually and both struggle with addiction from alcohol . I am a Christian and have been in a Celebrate Recovery program ,and have given that area of addiction over to God. I have been called to lead women’s ministry and I know God will not allow me to lead until I completely give my life 100% to him, for partial disobedience is disobedient. I have such a heart to share my testimony with women and to share the gospel through my struggles. I just know this soul tie has to be severed! God does not put us through pain without something being reborn, Isaiah 66:9. I was looking up soul ties and you came up , this was from God! I am ordering your book. God bless you!

  12. Anna says:

    I was in a relationship not for long for 4 months and I was desperately trying to end this relationship because i knew this person was not a good person and he was consumed with lies about his life.

    Eventually the relationship broke, he tortured me emotionally saying that he is lucifer he will make my life a living hell. I was fearful until I got a protection order against him.

    Still today it has been 4 weeks and I still feel the pain of his lies and manipulation.

    I pray that God will help him in his ways. I know that it take time to move on but the fact is that I have moved on not with another partner but with God.

    I would rather wait on God before going into another relationship.

  14. Leanne says:

    Hi Terri,
    So I have heard of soul ties b4 but thought that it only had to do with people who have been in romantic relationships and have been sexually physical out of wedlock. As I was reading my bible, I just started to cry not knowing why. Then I thought about my day, I was very sad that a girlfriend of mine whom I always thought I got in specially with, was back in town & I hadn’t had a chance to see her yet. We’d been texting all day & I was sad that we couldn’t hang out sooner than I wanted. I also remembered that a guy at my university had just texted me earlier that day to ask how my summer was going. He is a guy that is not christian, rather Muslim, who I was flirtingly texting while at university but stopped when I realized it was getting too “flirty”, however I had a special liking for him even though our relationship often confused me. Thirdly, in at the end of my gr 12 year, a guy I had known for a short while sat next to me on the bus ONE time, we talked intensely for the whole bus ride which was about an hour, telling each other about family, friends, school, prom etc. anyway, after that day in the bus, I developed a crush on him. We had a weird little thing going, & it was even worse at prom because it seemed that we didn’t know where our relationship stood. We texted & flirted. We ended up just leaving highschool without ever confirming or having some kind of closure: anyway for a while, he was in my mind…after more than 6 months I wondered why I still though about him often, and missed him even though I barely knew him…it’s been a year & I still like him. I had no idea about all this to do with soul ties till tonight when I started crying over him, the other guy, & my girlfriend. The Lord just spoke clearly to me that I have a soul ties with every single person I mentioned. I want to thank you for this message. It has been a huge help. God bless you.

  15. Sas says:

    Hi Terri,
    For a long time I was confused what was happening to me .how can I think of a person who wronged me,blackmailed me hurt my parents and son.I am going through the cleasing process on my own….I don’t know how I figured it out.I think God showed me the way.its been three years and I’m only 40 percent through.it’s only now I’m reading abt ungodly soul tie…..I can now understand the connection. Thank u

  16. Renee says:

    Hi Terri,
    I saw a video on YouTube about soul-tie which lead me to your video. For years I felt this was my issue and year after year I have carried this burden with me. It all started with a simple conversation which lead into me thinking about this man I meet and how wonderful he is. Fast forward 10 years later we had an emotional affair. 20 years later. I’m stuck with hurt and anguish of a soul tie that I could never break. I am tormented daily with thoughts of him. This is not what I want my life to be like. I want freedom. I want to let go and it does hurt. It hurts a lot. I plan on purchasing your book tonight. With hopes of moving forward to break free. It’s been 4 months since we spoke and I’m trying so hard not to call or text. I have called out to God and I feel he isn’t answering me. I feel like God is listening but he has left me here. I’ve come to tears several times today. I just want this to be done and over with. I don’t want this to destroy me. I can’t wait for the day that I can come back on here to announced that I am FREE! God bless you Terri.

  17. Carrie says:

    Hi Terri,

    Thank you so very much for sharing what the Lord has shown you so clearly about these soul ties. I started dating one of my best friends about two years ago. There were a lot of issues with our relationship and we have broken up several times, but can’t seem to stay away from each other, becasue of our “soul ties.” We had no intentions of being intimate with one another from the start, as we both wanted to save this gift for marriage, but we gave into this sin and have been left so broken and stained. Thank goodness Jesus paid the price of those sins, but it still hurts so bad to be tied to someone and then have to begin the weinging process. I understand so clearly now why God designed sex to be with one person and onl in the context of marriage. We both keep giving in when the “weining” seems too difficult and we end up hooking up, making the hurt grow even more. Your words were such an encouragement to me. I know this will get better if we continue to stay away from one another and what a powerful reminder that partial obedience is disobedience. Thank you so so much for your words!

  18. Bea says:

    This is what i really need. God answered my confusiond through you. Thank u so much. This is very powerful. Psalm 23: he restores my soul, surely goodness will follow all the days of my life. I have to end this very unhealthy relationship. I know God is with me.

  19. Kim says:

    Thank you for your helpful words. You mentioned that change is a process. One thing that God used to change my life is the “Love and Relationship Addiction” group at Celebrate Recovery. CR is a Bible based, Christ centered 12 step program for people with hurts, habits, and hang-ups (sin). It showed me where mercy and truth meet – God’s truth with his loving patience, and a practical program that He’s used to set me free! Hope this helps someone. Thanks!

  21. dave says:

    Terri, I’ve read your book, and The girl I proposed and accepted to marry me, after 7 years of knowing her, rejected me just before marrying, and went with another guy.. I did all I could to reach her, but in the end she is doing what she wants and left me, it was so painfull, but the love of the lord its filling me inside everyday, and I know someone better is coming on the way, now i’m fighting to overcome my thoughts and let her go of my life. Thankfully I know the lord and he has been so good for me, so for anyone having any issues, god can fill you and made you whole, I do not need her anymore :).

    Thanks terri! god used you so you can help me through 9 months of painfull days 🙂

  22. AJ says:

    God bless you for sharing this. I am currently going through a difficult time cutting ties with an ex. I gave him everything and I loved him dearly. Never in a million years would I expect him to cheat on me. I found out that he was dating someone the entire time that we were together. My heart was broken, and my world was torn apart. Fast forward a month later and hear I am. Trying to cut soul ties and figure out who i am as a woman and what true love feels like…. lately I have been loosing sleep trying to break the unhealthy chain. I look forward to moving on and reading your book. Much love, happiness, and blessings to you.

  23. Martin says:

    Terri, I want to begin by saying Thank You for your article! I’ve been divorced two months and away from my ex-wife for nearly nine month. In my prayers I keep asking God and also my counselor, why do I miss her so much. She’s with me from the time I wake up until I go back to bed everyday! I see her, smell her, hear her, etc. All the statements you made in your article, ie. I’ll love you forever…. I made all those statements plus more.
    I’ve been a christian for many years, but gotten closer to God in the past few months. Only recently have I somewhat understood Soul Ties and I want to say your article was a Great help, thank God! I’ve asked God to sever the soul tie between my ex-wife and I so I can finally move on and serve God the way He deserved to worshiped. Please remember us all in your prayers.

  24. Sunbeam says:

    I think the worst part about soul ties is still connecting with the other person’s habits and feeling them within your soul.

    I mean that is the exact meaning of what a soul tie is but I guess it’s an odd phenomenon.

    Especially when you are constantly aware that they will show up at a particular venue without them telling you, that they will come to church that month (even if they do not attend your church anymore) to help himself get over you, even realising that the actions are meant to be vindictive and traumatise your happy place … church. It really weird even knowing that they have recently gotten an increase in salary, that they have bought a new car, that they are thinking about you at that particular time. That they are dating a girl to make you forget them and yet it makes them constantly more aware of you. Knowing all of this without them telling you but feeling it in your soul and then later having all these things come up on social media or actually occur. (And then I realised that I only ever checked his social media page/stalked him when I felt this gut feeling that something happened) … and sure it was there. But it was never Jesus! It was never the Spirit of God telling me this! I must make this clear. It’s those ungodly soul ties and I guess that’s one way the devil tried to keep me trapped in this stronghold.

    Seriously, I hate it. But reading this article made me realise one thing that I did not catch whilst immersing myself in the Word of God and seeking guidance in terms of what was going on with me … before I even knew what a soul tie was. I guess I didn’t catch the whole thing where you get to realise that words are powerful. I have only been taught that the Word of God is powerful – Only the Word of God – not necessarily the word that proceeds out of my mouth from the after effects of lust. So I guess I just didn’t entertain that particular issue. Thank you Terri! But now I realise that if I could pin it down as to why so many months later, my soul – on certain days – still feels entangled with the ungodly relationship I had is probably because of the words declared.

    This has been a great lead from the Spirit of God and I intend to explore this further in my devotions and I think I will write up on it, on my blog. Thank you so much! God Bless you with all heavenly blessings.

    Hope everyone who reads this gets the needed guidance from the Holy Spirit to deal effectively with all that baggage because honestly, I am of the opinion God wants us to move on. There are so many lost souls out there and carrying another soul prevents one from lifting up the King of Kings and allowing Him to draw men back unto Him.

    I leave it there thank you

  25. A. Kennedy says:

    I thank God for you and your timely word. The enemy is mad right now because my faith and strength has increased. And, I know he will try me again…. but thanks be to God for His power and also by reading this article I believe I am able to break this tie.

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